Helmut Newton was a 20th-century photographer of worldwide fame credited with creating a new direction in advertising. He loved luxury, posh women, and beautiful cars. His shots were bold, erotic, provocative, and had a significant impact on the fashion industry. This article outlines the milestones of Newton’s extensive life path, including his adolescence and first photos, life in Singapore and Australia, unsuccessful collaboration with Vogue, and scandalous career moves.
Young Years
Helmut Neustadter was born on October 31, 1920 in the Berlin suburb of Schöneberg. Young Helmut was never known for his health or academic success, but he was popular with girls and adored photography from an early age. So Helmut bought his first camera Agfa Tengor-Box with pocket money in 1932, when he was 12 years old. He took eight pictures, of which seven came out blank, and the last image was blurry. Then the boy decided that this wonderful picture was the beginning of the career of a famous photographer.
After the Nuremberg Laws came into effect, resulting in Jewish persecutions, Helmut’s father was no longer allowed to run the factory. The money ran out, and the Neustadter family no longer had hopes for a normal life. However, since Helmut has long been interested in photography, his mother, owing to her connections, arranged for him an apprenticeship with the famous photographer Elsa Simon. Six months later, Elsa called Helmut’s parents and said they no longer had to pay for tuition – now she herself will give him money as a reward for success.
After Kristallnacht on November 9, 1938, it became impossible to stay any longer in Germany. Helmuth’s father, Max, was sent to a concentration camp. His mom somehow managed to get a passport for her son, which allowed him to leave Germany. Helmuth left with only his clothes and cameras.
Exile
The ship Helmut sailed on was passing Singapore, and some foreigners were allowed to stay there. Newton was lucky: the commission chose him because he was young, knew English, had cameras and a photographer’s ID with him.
Meanwhile, the Japanese were getting closer and closer to Singapore, so Helmut was exiled to Australia as a foreign citizen. The migrants were settled in a camp where Helmut had to clean the toilets. He was later offered to volunteer for the Australian Army, where his service continued until the end of the war. He recalls this period of his life as “completely devoid of burdens.”
Melbourne
After the end of the war, Helmut changed his surname to Newton, received an Australian passport, and opened a small photography studio in Melbourne, where he met his future wife June, a young and promising actress. Helmuth took portraits and wedding photographs to pay for room and food while June sat in the studio selling photographs. Some years later, Newton gained some recognition, but he was frustrated by the lack of prospects. Therefore, when in 1957 he was invited to work for the English edition of Vogue, Newton agreed happily.
Searching
Newton felt like a simple-minded fellow from the Australian bush. He did not understand the British way of life, but was terrified of being professionally unsuitable. Unlike Australia, where Helmut had no competitors, in Britain, he felt like a redneck, very far from the masters of photography. Having reached an extreme point, he ended his contract with Vogue and moved to Paris, which he had loved for a long time. After several interviews, he landed a job at Jardin Des Modes magazine.
Fame
The atmosphere of Paris fascinated Helmuth: beautiful, intelligent, and relaxed women, small cafes, and even the noise of street traffic – everything delighted him. Life was great, but he still couldn’t make enough money. Helmut Newton again took a job at Vogue, this time French, and his career went uphill.
Paris was the world’s fashion capital, and the 60s were the era of the sexual revolution: girls wore short skirts, nude bras, and two-piece swimwear. It seemed Helmut was in the right place at the right time. Now his photos seem quite tame and harmless, but at that time, the work of Helmut seemed obscene and caused several public outrages.
For the next seven years, Helmut traveled the world, shooting for French and American Vogue. It was a crazy time: he earned good money, but slept catastrophically. This continued until he had a stroke – after that, Helmut kept working, but spared himself.
In 2004, when he was 83, Helmut Newton died while driving out of a Los Angeles parking lot. Upon losing control of the car, he crashed into a wall and died in the hospital an hour later.
Scandalous Legacy
In the spring of 1975, Helmuth was commissioned by the prestigious French magazine Réalités to make a photo essay about the luxurious Villa d’Este hotel on Lake Como. Helmuth made two episodes: one for the magazine and the other for his personal archive. Later, when Helmut Newton’s first book, “White Women,” was published, he included the footage from the second episode, the hotel director declared him persona non grata.
The same thing happened after the publication of his second book, Sleepless Nights. Helmuth again took “official” and “personal” pictures at the Raphael Hotel in Paris. The hotel management, in turn, forbade Newton to appear within the hotel limits.
After the takedown of the Berlin Wall, Helmuth was asked to travel to Berlin and shoot a short film for French Vogue. Newton decided to tell a story about a beautiful Russian spy. In one of the pictures, his model, Brigitte Schilling, stands on a tower overlooking the other side of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately, Helmuth did not notice that at her foot was a cross with a sign in honor of the first person who tried to escape to West Berlin. When this photo appeared on the magazine’s pages, an international scandal erupted: supposedly a reputable French magazine, they were making fun of the tragedy. In retaliation, the Germans broke contracts with French Vogue.
